Don't Forget to Wait for Me
by DAnNSfreak
Summary: DnA. They could have been, they should have been. But they weren't.


Disclaimer: Not mine, never have been, never will be… sigh… again, and again…

I was in the mood for sadness so, here's a sad story… :-b

**Don't Forget to Wait for Me **

_You wake up, you got to work,_

_you meet the people you know, you talk, you laugh._

_Then, 'bam', it's all over, and you never saw it coming…_

What was it, Aiden Burn wondered, about love that makes your mind go topsy-turvy, makes you stutter like crazy, makes you nervous as hell, makes your heart thump super fast and makes your mind go blank of everything except the person you love?

She had just signed in for the morning and was headed for the break room where she knew a certain someone would have a cup of steaming coffee ready for her, made just the way she liked it.

Aiden had been having these crazy mixed up feelings for a long time already.

She wanted to do something about it, but she always had the fear that he would reject her, laugh in her face or say, "Aiden, I love you, but only as a sister…"

Aiden shuddered at the thought. Their friendship will never be the same again if that happens.

But still, she felt like she would burst if she did not tell Danny Messer that she loved him.

Everything about him, his sparkling blue eyes, his dirty-blond hair, his sense of humor, the way he smiles…

That's it! Aiden was going to do something about it before it was too late. How can she let a great guy like Danny slip out of her life like that?

Just ask him out, on a date, or something like that… how hard can it be?

Aiden arrived at the break room and just as she expected, Danny was there.

He had just turned away from the coffee machine, holding two mugs full of hot coffee.

The moment he saw Aiden, he grinned and handed one of the mugs to her. "Good morning," he greeted.

"Morning," replied Aiden with a smile.

They both sat down at the table. Danny pulled a copy of the day's New York Times towards him and started to read.

After a moment, he sensed that someone was staring at him. He looked up.

Sure enough, his eyes immediately met Aiden's.

"What?" he asked.

Aiden smiled and lowered her gaze, "Nothing…" She slowly took a sip out of her cup.

Danny frowned, and then shrugged. Then he returned to his paper.

Aiden sighed as quietly as she could, 'C'mon… just ask him!'

She watched him flip a page and on impulse, she asked, "Doing anything tonight?"

Danny looked up and thought for a moment, "No… what do you have in mind?" he asked with a smile.

"Dinner?" Aiden asked.

Danny grinned, "Sure. Put you on the hood?"

Aiden rolled her eyes, "Harhar…"

She felt much happier. Tonight, she'll tell Danny what she had been hiding all along and hopefully, he'll feel the same way too.

Suddenly, Mac came in and said, "There you are. Danny, you got a homicide on 5th Street. Aiden, robbery at Times Square. Get goin',"

With that, he headed out, as quick as he came in. Aiden really marveled how he does that.

Exchanging glances, Danny and Aiden got up and headed for the door.

Aiden said, "See you after work,"

Danny smiled, "Can't wait,"

Aiden felt really happy. Tonight, she just can't wait til' it comes. She felt really confidant. 'Let's just hope he doesn't blow me off…' she thought.

* * *

It was already evening by the time Aiden finished processing the crime scene and returned to the lab.

It was raining very heavily, making the sky much darker than it would have been.

She would just drop of the evidence that needs analyzing and head off to dinner with Danny. She was feeling much more excited now.

She walked into the lab, wondering what they will be eating. She knows Danny liked Italian so they might go for pizza. Aiden could even get him to give in for Chinese, which Aiden preferred.

Her thoughts were interrupted when something about her surroundings hit her as strange.

She couldn't tell what it was but there just seemed to be a very gloomy mood in the air. 'Maybe it's just the rain…' thought Aiden.

But no, all the techs looked quite serious and sad. Not a single smile anywhere.

The people walking by her all looked tensed and Aiden could have sworn Jane's eyes were red from crying when she whizzed past Aiden.

Aiden walked into the locker room and there was Stella and Mac.

Stella was sitting on the bench, head bowed down while Mac had an arm around her.

Aiden cleared her throat to announce her presence.

They both looked up and Aiden could see tears in both their eyes.

Strange, Aiden had never seen Mac crying before.

"What's wrong?" Aiden asked.

Mac stood up. Although his eyes were red, he spoke clearly, "Where have you been? We've been trying to call you,"

Aiden looked at her cell phone. Its batteries were dead, "Oh… ran out of batteries. Why? What's wrong? What happened?"

Stella suddenly burst out crying. Mac was about to say something but he couldn't get the words out.

He merely shook his head and bit his lower lip instead, trying to hold back his own tears.

Aiden felt very cold, she didn't know why.

Danny, she thought, he can tell me what's going on.

She had no idea where that thought came from, it just came. Automatically, she asked, "Where's Danny?"

At that point, Stella cried even louder.

Aiden felt a deep sense of dread. What the hell is going on!

Mac took a deep breath and said, "Aiden… Danny was at a crime scene earlier. The killer came back… and well… Danny was shot… Danny…"

Shaking now, Aiden asked, "So, is Danny ok?" dreading the answer.

Mac couldn't answer.

From there, Aiden knew…

Danny was gone.

He had left the world, left the lab, left Aiden.

Stella suddenly got up and grabbed Mac by the collar, screaming through tears, "Why, Mac? Why? There were supposed to be officers there! Why the hell weren't they there! Danny wouldn't have died if they did their job!"

Mac replied, "They were there… just that, Danny got shot… they couldn't do anything…"

Aiden felt numb. Thousands of memories came flooding back, she couldn't see Mac and Stella, and she couldn't hear Stella's sobs or Mac's words…

All she saw was Danny's face, his friendly, trusting face.

All she heard was Danny's voice.

"_Put you on the hood?"_

"_You're such a girl!"_

"_What, you're my mother now?"_

"_Oh, it's your pal Lily. Remember him? I'm Burn, he's Messer…"_

Suddenly, Mac came into view. He was holding a bouquet of flowers, filled with beautiful roses, Aiden's favorite.

Nestled among the flowers was a card.

Mac said, "We found this in his car. They're for you,"

Trembling, Aiden opened the card. Tears welled up in her eyes as she read Danny's slanted writing.

_Dear Aiden,_

_I've never met anyone as amazing as you. When you first arrived at work, you know what was the first thing I thought? 'What a hottie!'_

_I know, very sexist of me._

_But really, I was really glad when Mac made you my partner._

_You taught me how to laugh, to not take things too seriously, but most of all, you taught me to be myself._

_As each day comes, you have become a great friend. And well, I felt that you've become much more than that. I have wanted to say this for a long time…_

_Aiden, I love you._

_You must think I'm such a coward to write it down instead of saying it to your face. This way, I don't have to feel 'too' bad if you reject me._

_At least I won't see you laugh out loud that I'm actually interested in you._

_I got these flowers right after you asked me to dinner. I hope you'll like them._

_Whatever your decision, Aid, I'm okay with it 100. We'll still be good friends no matter what._

_See you at work!_

_Yours forever, _

_Danny._

Aiden couldn't stand it anymore, clenching the card, she let the tears flow down. Now she knew, he had always felt the same way too.

Aiden couldn't believe it.

How can she go on with her life knowing that she will never see him again?

Knowing that she'll never hear her voice, never share a joke with him, never solve a case with him ever again?

Bt as Aiden stepped out of the building, she realized that the rain had stopped and the sun was shining brightly, even thought it was already setting.

There was also a beautiful rainbow in the sky.

Aiden felt strangely content, at peace, she couldn't understand why, seeing that she was so miserable a few minutes ago.

Then, she understood.

Aiden knew that Danny was now her rainbow, her sun, her sky.

Aiden knew that this good weather was a message from Danny to her.

Aiden could even hear his voice now, his familiar New York accent that Aiden knew so well.

'You've got to carry on, Aiden. I want you to be happy. I will always be there for you, no matter what. I love you.'

And carrying on is exactly what Aiden will do.

She sent a message of her own through her thoughts, knowing that Danny will hear every word.

'Danny, don't forget to wait for me.'

END

I actually cried when I wrote this. Then I laughed that I cried. I'm nuts…

Please review and let me know what you think. I beg you! Please!

And for my own sake, LONG LIVE DANNY MESSER! (As if I ever want him to die!)

REVIEW!


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